Gas fuel regulator



March 28, 1939. c. L. ROBINSON 2,152,501

' GAS FUEL REGULATOR Filed Dec. 17, 1937 A lad/0 FUEL INVENTOR. 11L.HUBINEUN Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GAS FUELREGULATOR 8 Claims.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a gas fuel regulatorfor utilizing dry gas in an internal combustion motor that is timed andactuated by the crank shaft of the motor.

A further object of this invention is to provide a gas fuel regulatorfor use with butane-propane or like gas as fuel for internal combustionmotors that prevents loss of the gas when the motor is not in operation.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a gas fuelregulator for use with tank gas under pressure that sprays oil into thegas flow for the lubrication of the engine or motor and which shuts offthe supply of gas when the motor is stopped.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a gas fuelregulator that is economical in manufacture, durable and efficient inuse.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated areattained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims.and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side sectional view of my gas fuel regulator mounted on aninternal combustion motor and ready for use.

Fig. 2 is a top sectional view of my gas fuel regulator taken on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of the throttle shut-off valve morefully illustrating its construction.

It is often desired to convert internal combustion motors in order thatthey may use as fuel a dry gas such as butane-propane instead of liquidfuel as their fuel sup-ply. This conversion requires the use of aregulator in order to admit a pre-determined amount of the dry gas underpressure to the dry gas carburetor of the internal combustion motor.'Heretofore, this has been accomplished by the use of complicateddiaphragm and vacuum pressure regulators. These regulators have severalserious disadvantages in that they are not uniform in their delivery offuel and need to be delicately balanced in order to deliver the requiredamount of fuel at specific intervals. This makes necessary, in multiplecylinder motors the. use of separate regulators for each cylinder, inorder that the vacuum of the manifold and cylinder displacement beutilized for the admission .of gas to the motor. Furthermore, they aresusceptible to leakage and due p to the delicate nature of theirconstruction, must be frequently adjusted. I have overcome suchdisadvantages as will be appreciated and as hereinafter more fully setforth.

Referring to the drawing, I have used the numeral H) to designate anordinary internal combustion motor having incorporated therein theordinary dry gas carburetor II as shown in the drawing.

I have used the numeral l2 to designate the crank shaft of the internalcombustion motor IQ having rigidly secured thereto a cam l3. It is tosuch an internal combustion motor combination that my device isadaptable and which I will now describe.

I have used the numeral I4 to designate the housing of my device havingtherein an intake chamber which is in communication through a pipe l5with a suitable source of dry gas under pressure and which ordinarily isreleased into the pipe it through the common type of pressure governor.As is well known, the governor on these ordinary tanks can be pre-setrtodeliver any amount of pressure desired through its outlet pipe. I haveused the numeral I! to designate a secondary chamber. The numeral 58designates a valve imposed between the inlet chamber l5 and thesecondary chamber ll. This valve has integrally formed on itslowerportion a sleeve I9. I have used the numeral 26 to designate a push rodslidably mounted through the lower portion of the housing l4 and havingits upper end slidably mounted within the sleeve 19 of the valve 18. Thenumeral 2| indicates slot openings in the sleeve !9. I have used thenumeral 22 to designate a pin extending through the upper end of thepush rod 20 and projecting through the slots 2| of the sleeve l9 asshown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. This pin 22 is for the purpose oflimiting the sliding movement of the push rod 20 relative to the valvel8 and its attendant sleeve 19. The numeral 23 designates a coilcompression spring within the sleeve [9 and imposed between the upperinside end of the sleeve l9 and the upper end of the push rod 20 foryieldingly holding the valve assembly in an upward position relative tothe push rod 20.

I have used the numeral 24 to designate a compression spring imposedbetween the upper face of the valve l8 and the top or cover of thehousing I4 for yieldingly holding the valve IS in a closed position. Ihave used the numeral 25 to designate a roller rotatably mounted on thelower end of the push rod 25 adjacent the cam I3. I have used thenumeral 26 to designate the outlet chamber of my gas fuel regulatorseparated from the inlet chamber l5 and in communication with thesecondary chamber IT at times through a valve seat ii. I have used thenumeral 28 to designate a valve slidably mounted in the housing M asshown in the drawing. The numeral 29 designates a compression springabout the valve stem 28 for yieldingly holding the valve stem in aclosed position on the seat 21.

The numeral .30 designates a valve actuating arm pivotally securedwithin the housing I4 and having a fork 3| on its end closest to thepivot point of the arm 30 loosely embracing the push rod 20. The numeral32 designates a shoulder formed on the push rod 20 and in engagementwith the ends of the fork 3| as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Theother end of this lever 30 is in operative contact with the valve stemof the valve 28; thus the movements of the push rod 2|] are transmittedto actuate the valve 28. Ihave used the numeral 33 to designate the oilinlet in communication with a suitable source of fine oil underpressure. The oil admitted through the pipe 33 is conducted into thechamber and thence released at times through a valve 34 and a spraynozzle 35 into the chamber 26. This valve 34 is actuated by the arm 30at the same time the valve 28 is actuated, thus admitting oil into thechamber 26 to mix with the dry gas and be carried into a carburetor andthence into the motor I6.

I have used the numeral 36 to designate an outlet pipe having one end incommunication with the outlet chamber 26 of the gas regulator and itsother end in communication with an ordinary dry gas carburetor II. Thiscarburetor II has the ordinary'throttle rod 31 thereon for increasing ordecreasing the supply of gas to the motor. The numeral 38 designates acrank arm having one end operatively secured to the throttle rod 3? andbeing yieldingly held in one of its positions by an ordinary spring. Ihave used the numeral 39 to designate a gate valve imposed in the outletpipe 36 and having therein the pivotally mounted gate 40 which isoperatively secured to the other arm of the crank arm 38. Thus when thethrottle is open and the motor is operating, the gate valve is in anopen position, but when the motor has been stopped or the throttledecreased, this gate valve will shut off the supply of gas to thecarburetor regardless of the action of the fuel regulator.

Normally, these dry gas carburetors are merely mixing valves so that theproper amount of air may be introduced into the dry gas for propercombustion within the motor.

The practical operation of my device is as follows:

Gas, under pressure, is admitted through the pipe l6 and into thechamber |5. When the crank shaft I2 is rotated as in cranking the motoror during its normal operation, the cam l3 will cause the push rod 2|]to reciprocate. As the rod travels upwardly, it first compresses thespring l9 until the pins 22 strike the upper edges of the slots 2| andthen opens the valve l8, against the tension of the spring 24, admittingthe gas to the chamber As the cam |3 rotates further, dropping the pushrod 26, the valve l8 will close by virtue of the force exerted upon itby the spring 24.- It will then continue its downward travel undertension of the spring |'9 until the pins 22 hit the lower ends of theslots 2|. During the downward movement of the push rod 26, as the pins22 ride within the slots 2|, the shoulder 32 will contact the fork 3| ofthe lever 36, pivoting it and raising the valve 28, allowing the gas toescape into the outlet chamber 26 and thence into the pipe 36, the valve39 and into the carburetor H. At the same time that the valve 28 israised by the arm 30, the small valve 34 is raised or opened, allowingoil under pressure to escape from the pipe 33 through the nozzle 35 andbe sprayed into the chamber 26 where it will be carried through the pipe36 into the carburetor H and thence into the motor It). It will be.noted by this construction, that at least one of the valves 23 or 28will be in a closed position at all times, preventing the escape of thegas from the regulator regardless of the altitude in which the cam I3 isstopped and very close control of the volume of gas allowed to enter themotor can be had.

As a further prevention against the regulation of gas and to insureinstant stopping of the motor, the gate valve 39 is provided which isactuated through the medium of the lever or crank arm 38 by the throttlerod 31 as will be appreciated.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a gas fuel regulator whichfulfills all of my objects and overcomes the disadvantages of regulatorsnow in use. My device does not depend upon delicately balanced devices,has no parts likely to become out of order and positively preventsleakage of gas when the motor is not functioning. Furthermore, my deviceacts uniformly relative to the motor speed which is not the case whenvacuum pressure is utilized, as the suction decreases with the speed ofthe motor. My device admits gas in direct ratio to the speed of themotor and thus 7 permits faster acceleration and more uniform control ofmotor speed when dry gas under pressure is used as the fuel source.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of myimproved gas fuel regulator without departing from the real spirit andpurpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claimsany modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents whichmay be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, an inlet chamber designed to bein communication with a source of fuel under pressure, a secondarychamber, a reciprocating valve imposed between said inlet chamber andsaid secondary chamber, a push rod in slidingly yielding engagement withsaid valve, a means for reciprocating said push rod, an outlet chamber,a second valve imposed between said outlet chamber and said secondarychamber, a means for operatively securing said second valve to said pushrod; said second mentioned valve so actuated as to be closed when saidfirst mentioned valve is opened and opened when said second mentionedvalve is closed, and an outlet in communication with said outletchamber.

2. In a device of the class described, an inlet chamber designed to bein communication with a source of fuel under pressure, a secondarychamber, a reciprocating valve imposed between said inlet chamber andsaid secondary chamber,

a push rod in slidingly yielding engagement with said valve, a means forreciprocating said push rod, an outlet chamber, a second valve imposedbetween said outlet chamber and said secondary chamber, a means foroperatively securing said second valve to said push rod; said secondmentioned valve so actuated as to be closed when said first mentionedvalve is opened and opened when said second mentioned valve is closed,and a means for spraying oil under pressure into said outlet chamber attimes.

3. In a gas fuel regulator to be used in conjunction with an internalcombustion motor having a carburetor and crank shaft, a housing, aninlet chamber in said housing designed to be in communication with asource of fuel under pressure, a secondary chamber in said housing, avalve imposed between said inlet chamber and said secondary chamber, apush rod slidably mounted in said housing and having its upper endslidably and yieldingly engaging said valve,

a means for limiting the sliding movement of said push rod relative tosaid valve, a roller rotatably mounted on lower end. of said push rod, acam secured to the crank shaft of the motor and in contact with saidroller of said push rod, a means for yieldingly holding said valve in aclosed position, an outlet chamber in said housing, a second valveimposed between said outlet chamber in said housing, a second valveimposed between said outlet chamber and said secondary chamber, a rockerarm pivotally mounted in said housing having one of its ends inoperative engagement with said push rod and its other end in operativeengagement with said second mentioned valve and an outlet pipe incommunication between said outlet chamber and the carburetor of themotor.

4. In a gas fuel regulator to be used in conjunction with an internalcombustion motor having a carburetor and crank shaft, a housing, aninlet chamber in said housing designed to be in communication with asource of fuel under pressure, a secondary chamber in said housing, avalve imposed between said inlet chamber and said secondary chamber, apush rod slidably mounted in said housing and having its upper endslidable and yieldingly engaging said valve, a means for limiting thesliding movement of said push rod relative to said valve, a rollerrotatably mounted on lower end of said push rod, a cam secured to thecrank shaft of the motor and in contact with said roller of said pushrod, a means for yieldingly holding said valve in a closed position, anoutlet chamber in said housing, a second valve imposed between saidoutlet chamber and said secondary chamber, a rocker arm pivotallymounted in said housing having one of its ends in operative engagementwith said push rod and its other end in operative engagement with saidsecond mentioned valve; said first mentioned valve and said secondmentioned valve being so timed relative to each other that one of saidvalves is opened when the other of said valves is closed, and a meansfor spraying oil into said outlet chamber at times.

5. In combination with an internal combustion motor having a crank shaftand a dry gas carburetor, a gas fuel regulator comprising a housing, aninlet chamber in said housing in communication with a suitable source ofdry gas under pressure, a secondary chamber in said housing incommunication with said inlet chamber at times, an outlet chamber insaid housing in communication with said secondary chamber at times, avalve imposed between said inlet chamber and said secondary chamber, ameans for operatively securing said valve to the crank shaft of themotor, a second valve imposed between said secondary chamber and saidoutlet chamber, a means for operatively securing said second mentionedvalve to the crank shaft of the motor; said first and said secondmentioned valves being so timed and actuated that one valve is in aclosed position when the other valve is in an opened position, and anoutlet conduit in communication between said outlet chamber and saidcarburetor.

6. In a device of the class described, a housing, an inlet chamber insaid housing designed to be in communication with the source of fuelunder pressure, a. secondary chamber in said housing in communicationthrough an opening with said inlet chamber at times, a valve imposedbetween said inlet chamber and said secondary chamber and capable ofclosing said opening between said inlet chamber and said secondarychamber at times, a sleeve formed on the lower end of said valve, a pushrod having one end slidably mounted in said sleeve, a means for limitingthe sliding motion of said push rod relative to said sleeve, a means foryieldingly holding said push rod in one position relative to saidsleeve, a means for facilitating the reciprocating movement of said pushrod, an outlet chamber in said housing, an opening between said outletchamber and said secondary chamber, a valve imposed in said opening, ameans for yieldingly holding said Valve in a closed position, a meansfor operatively securing said second mentioned valve to said push rod;said first mentioned valve being in an open position when said secondmentioned valve is in a closed position and said first mentioned valvebeing in a closed position when said second mentioned valve is in anopen position and an outlet passageway in communication with said outletchamber.

'7. In a device of the class described, a housing, an inlet chamber insaid housing designed to be in communication with the source of fuelunder pressure, a secondary chamber in said housing in communicationthrough an opening with said inlet chamber at times, a valve imposedbetween said inlet chamber and said secondary chamber and capable ofclosing said opening between said inlet chamber and said secondarychamber at times, a sleeve formed on the lower end of said valve, a pushrod having one end slidably mounted in said sleeve, a means for limitingthe sliding motion of said push rod relative to said sleeve, a means foryieldingly holding said push rod in one position relative to saidsleeve, a means for facilitating the reciprocating movement of said pushrod, an outlet chamber in said housing, an opening between said outletchamber and said secondary chamber, a valve imposed in said opening, ameans for yieldingly holding said valve in a closed position, a meansfor operatively securing said second mentioned valve to said push rod;said first mentioned valve being in an open position when said secondmentioned valve is in a closed position and said first mentioned valvebeing in a closed position When said second mentioned valve is in anopen position and a means for injecting oil into said outlet chamberwhen said second mentioned valve is in an open position.

8. In a device of the class described, an inlet chamber designed to bein communication with a source of fuel under pressure, a secondarychamber, a valve mechanism imposed between said inlet chamber and saidsecondary chamber, a means for operating said valve, an outlet chamber,a second valve imposed between said outlet chamber and said secondarychamber, a means for operatively securing said second valve to saidfirst mentioned valve mechanism; said second mentioned valve being soactuated as to be closed when said first mentioned valve is open andopen when said first mentioned valve is closed, and an outlet pipe incommunication with said outlet chamber.

CLAUD L. ROBINSON.

